RICHMOND, Va.—Two early goals by the homestanding Rams of Virginia Commonwealth set the tone early as Bellarmine fell 6-1 in field hockey action at Cary Street Field on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Rams (4-2) tacked on another goal late in the opening period to lead 3-0 after the opening 15 minutes. Neither team found the back of the cage in the second quarter, so when Bellarmine finally struck paydirt about midway through the third period, the Knights closed to within 3-1. 
 
The Bellarmine score was set up by Marit van der Bend, who picked off a VCU pass along the sideline and centered a long pass to Peyton Hobson just outside the top of the circle.  The Louisville sophomore took it from there as she outmaneuvered three Ram defenders and got her shot to deflect off the VCU goalie and into the goal.
 
The hosts had a quick answer, re-establishing a its 3-goal advantage just two and a half minutes later when Bridget McCormick registered one of her three goals on the day.   Virginia Commonwealth went on to add two more goals in the fourth to make the final score 6-1.
 
The Rams, who are members of the A-10 Conference, held advantages in shots (23-5), shots on goal (11-3) and penalty corners (7-2).
 
Bellarmine (1-6) heads west for its next competition, facing off with Lock Haven and St. Louis on Sept. 25 and 26 at Sportport International in Maryland Heights, Missouri just outside of St. Louis.